Adherence to therapy: a modern pharmacotherapeutic approach
Medication adherence is a crucial contributor to effective chronic diseases management. On the contrary, the poor adherence leads to significant worsening of disease, death, and increased healthcare costs. Moreover, patient non-adherence is not limited to medications alone. It can also take many other forms; these include the failure to keep appointments, to follow recommended dietary or other lifestyle changes, and to follow other aspects of treatment or recommended preventive health practices. According to the most recent report of the World Health Organization the global adherence among patients with chronic diseases averages 50 % in developed countries, with rates decreasing as the co-morbidities …show more content…
The World Health Organization identified five sets of factors that are important for patients to adhere to the long-term therapeutic regimens. These include: the social and economic factors, the health care team and system, the characteristics of the disease (for example, mental or physical disability), the characteristics of the treatment (for example, number of the medicines prescribed, the frequency of administration and side effects), and patient-related factors. In general, medical adherence is better for drugs that provide symptom relief, as opposed to those ones used to treat a generally asymptomatic condition. For example, chronic conditions (such as high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression) are common diseases characterized with few symptoms and poor adherence consequently. Additionally, studies have shown that adherence rates decrease when the treatment is long-term, involves multiple medications taken concurrently, several times during the day. This problem can be overcome by simplifying the therapeutic regime (use of extended-release formulations and / or fixed-dose combination finished pharmaceutical
Medication adherence is a crucial contributor to effective chronic diseases management. On the contrary, the poor adherence leads to significant worsening of disease, death, and increased healthcare costs. Moreover, patient non-adherence is not limited to medications alone. It can also take many other forms; these include the failure to keep appointments, to follow recommended dietary or other lifestyle changes, and to follow other aspects of treatment or recommended preventive health practices. According to the most recent report of the World Health Organization the global adherence among patients with chronic diseases averages 50 % in developed countries, with rates decreasing as the co-morbidities …show more content…
The World Health Organization identified five sets of factors that are important for patients to adhere to the long-term therapeutic regimens. These include: the social and economic factors, the health care team and system, the characteristics of the disease (for example, mental or physical disability), the characteristics of the treatment (for example, number of the medicines prescribed, the frequency of administration and side effects), and patient-related factors. In general, medical adherence is better for drugs that provide symptom relief, as opposed to those ones used to treat a generally asymptomatic condition. For example, chronic conditions (such as high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression) are common diseases characterized with few symptoms and poor adherence consequently. Additionally, studies have shown that adherence rates decrease when the treatment is long-term, involves multiple medications taken concurrently, several times during the day. This problem can be overcome by simplifying the therapeutic regime (use of extended-release formulations and / or fixed-dose combination finished pharmaceutical